Return
The rattling coaches had just passed the gates of Hogwarts. Harry looked out of the window for his first glimpse of the castle. The welcoming sight of the school with its many turrets and brightly lit windows, however, brought no comfort for Harry. The loss of Sirius was like a gaping hole in his chest and pain was lurking inside of it, ready to stab at Harry's heart whenever he thought of his godfather.
Harry was looking a bit gaunt. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep well for months now. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Sirius disappear behind the veil. Harry's imagination had added grey and slimy claws creeping out from behind the veil trying to snatch Sirius away from the people who loved him. Every night Harry woke up, screaming, "No! Don't touch him! Let him go!"
During the summer, he had wandered around dolefully, Ron and Hermione unable to comfort him or cheer him up. Even the clearing of Sirius's name seemed empty and meaningless to Harry and left him raging inside. It was all too late!
The prospect of going back to Hogwarts at least invoked some positive reaction in Harry, but now he was seeing the Hogwarts lights, he realized how foolish it had been to expect that this would make everything better.
Hermione, noticing Harry's face had become even more miserable, said in a falsely cheerful voice, "I wonder who the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher will be."
Ron sniggered. "With our luck it'll be Cornelius Fudge. He's still looking for a new job, isn't he?"
Fudge had been 'released of his duties as Minister of Magic' and indeed was unemployed at the moment. That fact brought a slight smile to Harry, although he felt Fudge deserved a whole lot worse.
Completely serious Hermione replied, "I don't think Dumbledore will allow anyone from the Ministry as a teacher ever again."
"Oh, you'd think?" Ron commented sarcastically. Hermione chose not to answer and stared out of the window.
After the Sorting Hat had given off another warning and placed the first-years into their Houses, Dumbledore rose from his seat. Silence immediately fell over all the tables.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Firstly, to our first-year students, you should know that The Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bound for all students. I strongly advise our other students to take notice of this as well. Secondly, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to inform you that magic is not allowed in the hallways and that all banned items found within school territory will be confisquated immediately. A detailed list of banned items can be found at Mr. Filch's office."
He paused for a moment. "As you all know, the wizarding world is facing a great threat. Voldemort has returned and has finally come out into the open." There was a collective flinch and several little shrieks of fear. Draco Malfoy looked around the Hall smirking, Harry noticed. He felt his temper rise and wanted to walk over to the Slytherin table and plant his fist right in Malfoy's face.
Dumbledore had continued, however, and Harry turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Therefore our staff and myself feel the need to prepare and train you for what is outside of these walls. As such, I am pleased to introduce our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher: professor Niamh Carden."
A rather small witch got up out of her seat and made a elegant bow to the students.
"Wicked!" Ron reacted. The witch seemed quite young, with red-golden curls loosely pinned up at the back of her head. She had very pale skin, which made the dark blue of her eyes seem like pools. She had a sharp, straight nose, which would have been severe even, if it hadn't been for her full, curved mouth that gave her a more friendly appearance. That was not what caught Ron's attention, though. The witch was wearing a deep blue dress that fitted her tightly and showed off the curves of her body.
An appreciative round of applause was coming from the tables and the new teacher sat down again.
"Well, it's safe to assume that Defence is going to be much more interesting this year," Ron said cheerfully to Harry, without taking his eyes of professor Carden. Hermione rolled her eyes.
Harry was looking at Snape with a frown. "Guys, look at Snape." Ron and Hermione turned their heads and looked at the Potions master, who had both his hands clenched around the edge of the table and sat up straight. He was even paler than usual and was staring at something only he could see.
"He looks like someone who's just had a stick shoved up his - " Ron decided to leave the last word unspoken after a glance at Hermione, who gave him a reproachful look.
"I wonder what's the matter with him," she pondered.
"Well, I don't care, but since Carden doesn't seem to be a friend of Snape's, I like her already." Ron replied.
"Yeah, for that reason alone, I bet," Hermione muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore had finished his speech and food appeared on the tables. There was a loud buzzing around the Hall as the students began to chat.
"Neev, what kind of name is that?" Lavender Brown said in an unpleasant voice.
"It's an Irish name, of course," Hermione said out loud, so that Lavender heard her and shot her a murky look.
Seamus nodded. "Niamh is not that uncommon where I come from."
Ron glanced at Hermione. "And how would you know that? Never mind, why do I even ask?" he added before Hermione could open her mouth to start about the benefits of reading.
Harry looked at the new professor. She was talking cordially with professor McGonagall, who seemed to be quite taken with her. Snape was still sitting unnaturally straight, keeping his eyes to his plate. He didn't even bother to shot nasty glances at Harry, which was a distinct sign something wrong with him.
Harry looked around the Hall and saw that most of the boys were staring at their new professor. The girls seemed to be divided into a group that admired the young witch and a group that was altogether not amused that the boys' attention had turned towards a teacher.
Draco Malfoy was also looking at professor Carden, but with an expression of utter disgust on his face. Harry was beginning to feel more and more curious about this new figure at Hogwarts.
The next morning at breakfast, after another sleepless night, Harry was handed his timetable. Ron gasped. "Look! We've got double DADA on Mondays and Fridays. We've never had that much class."
"And Charms has been doubled too," Hermione added. "Well, it's quite logical I think. Dumbledore said it was important we were trained properly."
"Yeah, but what good is Charms going to be? I can't imagine myself Wingardium Leviosa-ing my way out of a duel," Ron sniggered.
Hermione shot him a deadly glance. "Charms are very useful, even though they don't involve flashes and sparks, Ron. Or have you forgotten about my Protean Charm?" she said haughtily. Ron shrugged and muttered something under his breath that was thankfully unintelligable.
After lunch the Gryffindors and Slytherins gathered at the DADA class room. Professor Carden arrived a few minutes later and opened the door. There was a shocked silence coming from the students. Carden, noticing something, turned around in the doorway and asked, "What is the matter?"
Seeing everybody stare at her, she understood. "Honestly, you can't expect me to run around casting spells with all those skirts flying around me, do you?" She rolled her eyes and walked into the classroom. Harry grinned and so did most other Gryffindors. Carden had not buttoned up her robes and underneath them a pair of jeans and a black jacket were showing.
"I am professor Carden. Professor Dumbledore asked me to take up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and I was happy to accept. As you no doubt will have noticed, you have a lot of hours in my classroom on your timetable, which I thought was very important. I will also start a Duelling Club at Wednesday evenings in the Great Hall. You may sign up after class."
Carden looked around her class that was still staring at her with some befuddlement. "To round up introductions I am going to run by the name list." She sat herself on her desk and read from the top. All students were present and she seemed to know most names. When she read out Harry's name and looked at him she smiled. Harry smiled back.
"Ah, Ronald Weasley. You have some famous brothers, I believe. Professor Flitwick gave me a tour and took me to the swamp first thing." The class grinned. Fred and George had certainly made an exit last year.
"And Blaise Zabini." There was a strange note in Carden's voice that she had also had when she read Malfoy's name.
"Well," Carden continued, "I have been informed that you have had some... er... unusual teachers for this subject. I will try to do my best to live up to them. I take it that you are well acquainted with the theory on this subject," she added disapprovingly, referring to Umbridge, "although I hear some of you have had a lot of practice too." She glanced at several DA-members and the corners of her mouth twitched.
"For the next couple of weeks we will be revising all spells from the last five years." The class groaned. "These spells will come up in the Duelling Club as well." She pointed her wand at the blackboard and a list of ten spells appeared. "These are the spells for this week. Friday your ability with these spells will be tested. I expect you to practise. Take out your wands, please, and form pairs."
After class the Gryffindors gathered at the greenhouses for Herbology, talking about Defence Against the Dark Arts and its teacher.
"I thought it was a shame she didn't teach us anything new, but I am so glad she didn't make us do theory. I have had enough of that for the rest of my life," Parvati Patil sighed.
"I think it's very clever of her to do some revising first, so that she can see how we do for herself," Hermione added. "Did you sign up for the Duelling Club?"
"Of course I did. I want all the practice I can get." Everybody agreed. They had all signed up. Then professor Sprout called them in and they dropped the subject.
After a couple of days of buzzing excitement the school had gotten used to Carden's unconventionally friendly way of teaching and calmed down. The Duelling Club was a great success with over a hundred and fifty members. Carden had had to split the Club in two and now the first four years were duelling on Tuesdays and the fifth-, sixth- and seventh-years remained on Wednesday evenings.
Carden and Flitwick had given a spectacular demonstration, quite unlike the one that Lockhart and Snape had, and Flitwick was often found in the Great Hall during Club hours to help the students.
Four weeks later, revision had ended and Carden started teaching Protection Spells. "You all know Expelliarmus very well, but you still need to know what to do when somebody has already cast a spell at you. We will begin with the most basic Protection Spell. It will conjure up a shield that deflects the spell. You hold your wand close to you, like this, pointing upwards, and you say, Protego! Repeat after me."
"Protego!" the class said.
"Very good. Now I want you to try to conjure up the shield a couple of times and then form pairs. One person will cast a spell on the other, who has to deflect it with the shield. Mind you, only use spells to disarm your opponent!"
It was a fairly easy spell, so that everybody mastered it within the hour.
"Very good, everybody! I am impressed. We will be repeating this spell quite a few times this year, and I advise you to keep practising with it. The more familiar you are with it, the more powerful your shield will beome. Now, we have some time left, so I would like to continue with the Invertio Spell. Cast this spell and any spell cast on you will bounce back to the caster."
"Really?" Malfoy's drawling voice was full of contempt. "How about the Unforgivable Curses? You can't protect yourself from those, can you?" he sniggered.
Carden looked at him with a look so chilling the temperature dropped with ten degrees. There seemed to be something going on between them Harry didn't understand. Carden turned at the rest of the class. "Indeed you can't. You just run - or suffer," she winked. The class laughed nervously.
"Now, about these Unforgivable Curses, we will practice fighting off the Imperius Curse later, but first things first. Repeat after me, Inverto!" The class obeyed. They practised on each other for a couple of minutes, until class ended.
"Harry, can I have a word with you?" Carden asked when most students had left.
"Yes, professor." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "I'll see you outside." He turned to Carden again.
"Professor Dumbledore asked me to teach you Occlumency. I heard you've had some experience already, but he thought it better if I continued."
"You are an Occlumens?" Harry was surprised.
Carden smiled. "Yes, I am." Her voice indicated she did not want to elaborate. "How about Thursday evenings?"
"I have Quidditch training on Thursdays."
"I see. Well, when do you have some free time then?"
"Mondays would be fine." Harry wasn't used to teachers speaking so familiarly to him and he wasn't sure how to react to it.
"Mondays it is then. Seven o'clock, in this room."
Harry nodded.
"Bye, Harry."
Goodbye, professor."
The next Monday Harry walked to the DADA class room at seven, finding professor Carden waiting for him.
"Good evening, Harry," Carden greeted him. Harry greeted back. He stared around the room. There were a couple of cushions lying around and Carden was holding two long and thin candles in her hands. The contrast with Snape's dungeon could not be greater.
She gestured at the cushions. "Take a seat." Harry sat carefully on a large cushion.
"Tonight I am going to teach you some ways of meditation, Harry. It is very important that you know how to clear your head."
Harry nodded. He already knew this from Snape, but he had never managed it properly. He wondered what Carden was going to try on him. She sat opposite of him and gave him one of the candles.
"Incendio." She had pointed her wand at Harry's candle and it lit up. "I want you to look at the candle and focus all your attention to it. Let your breath go in and out slowly." Harry started to stare at the candle and immediately felt his eyes burn.
"You may blink, you know," Carden said dryly. "Just try to limit it. Concentrate on your breathing."
Harry felt ridiculous, but after a while the concentrating became easier and more natural. He didn't have to pay as much attention to his breathing and his thoughts wandered off. Carden noticed it and said in a soft voice, "If you have any thoughts, just look at them, examine them, and set them aside."
Several thoughts passed him by and he tried to do what Carden said, feeling like an idiot at first, but slowly it became sort of fun to examine all his thoughts and feelings of the past day. After a long time he felt relaxed and at ease. He started smiling and kept on looking at the candle.
"Harry, I want you to look inside and see your soul. The place where all your feelings come from, where your memories are stored. Try to picture it as a real place inside of you."
Surprisingly fast, Harry managed to picture his soul inside of him. He saw it as a small boll of light.
"Good, Harry." Carden's voice sounded deep and soft. "Now shield that place. Make it stronger. A place only you can enter."
Harry wondered how he should do that and decided to build a brick wall around it. To his surprise he could actually see a wall being built around the boll of light.
"Alright, I think we have done enough for one night. Harry, slowly move away. Focus your attention on the candle again." Somewhat amazed Harry realized he hadn't seen the candle for quite some time. Now he focussed his eyes on it again.
"Good, exhale deeply and let go of your concentration."
Harry felt his concentration slip off him like a cloak. He looked at Carden, who smiled at him. "That was excellent, Harry. I take it that you feel relaxed?"
"Yes, I do. It was great. I didn't know I could do stuff like that."
"Well, you'll be doing that stuff a lot, because it's important that you get the hang of it. Take these candles and practise every night. If you feel awkward, try and teach your friend Ron to do it. It could be important for him to learn too." Carden got up and smoothened her skirt. "Well, good night and I will see you in class."
Harry said goodnight and left the room.
Several weeks later Harry was on his way to Carden's classrooms for another Occlumency lesson, but when he had almost reached the door he heard an unpleasant voice. One that he would recognize anywhere. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"I've received a letter from Lucius, Niamh," Snape said softly. Harry felt his stomach lurch. Carden was on first name terms with Snape and Lucius Malfoy?
It certainly seemed so when Carden replied to Snape, "Oh, really? All the way from Azkaban? I'm flattered. And what did he have to say, Severus?"
"You've been discovered. They know who the new Hogwarts teacher really is."
Thoughts swirled through Harry's head. Who she really is? Does she know Lucius Malfoy? If she is acquainted with Lucius Malfoy, would she also be acquainted with his Death Eater friends? She did seem to know Snape as well.
Carden snorted. "This is supposed to scare me?" Her voice was icy and scornful. "Besides, I'm teaching under my own name, so it was only a matter of time until they remembered me."
"And Dumbledore is fine with this?"
"Well, you know Dumbledore, Severus. Always the optimist. He thinks it'll turn out fine. He even believes in second chances." Carden gave a chilling chuckle. "You should know that."
"Niamh…"
"What you did to deserve one will always be a mystery to me." There was an odd note to her voice.
"You know I can't - "
Carden cut Snape off and said, "Look, Potter will be here any second for Occlumency. You had better go."
"Very well. Just remember the warning. Lucius told me to keep a close eye on you. You don't have anything to fear from me, but there may be others…"
"I'll watch my back. But I'm sure Dumbledore has already spoken to the other teachers, so I won't have to worry about any unexpected revenge actions here."
Snape muttered something, but it was too soft for Harry to understand. Next he heard Snape's footsteps coming out of the class room and Harry hid himself quickly in an alcove.
After Snape had swept past him, Harry went into the class room cautiously. He had really liked the new teacher, but now it seemed she was hiding something. She could be dangerous. She had already caught most teachers in her web. Harry thought about Flitwick, who she seemed to be friends with, and even McGonagall had been charmed by this woman. All the students adored her. Harry knew he had to be very careful around her.
"Good evening, Harry."
Harry turned around swiftly. Carden was standing behind him. She frowned. "Are you okay? You seem nervous."
Harry tried to calm his beating heart. That witch had scared him out of his wits.
"I'm fine."
Carden nodded. "Did practice go well?"
Practice! If Carden was working with Death Eaters, maybe she was helping them by influencing Harry with Occlumency. He suddenly remembered her remarks about Ron learning Occlumency as well. She could be after Ron too.
"It went very well." He kept his voice flat.
"Alright, let's do some defence then. I will try to penetrate your mind and you will repel me. In a few weeks we'll start working on shielding your mind without the intruder noticing."
Harry goggled at her. "Is that possible?"
"Yes. It's quite advanced, of course, but we are going to try that too."
Harry's mind wandered off again. If Carden could shield her mind without letting anyone know it, even Dumbledore could be fooled by her. He wondered if Snape could do the same.
"Now, take a seat, Harry." Carden still seemed to be a bit agitated by Snape's visit. "I want you to meditate again first." She handed him a candle again and Harry focussed on the candle.
After several minutes Harry had cleared his head and felt relaxed.
"Good. I'll attack you and you fight me off. Don't forget to use the Protego or Invertio Spell. Are you ready?"
Harry gave a slight nod.
Carden pointed her wand at him. "Legilimens!"
Immediately Harry felt images soaring through his mind. The beginning of term, his summer holiday, Ron, Hermione, Sirius - Harry panicked. "No!" he screamed. "INVERTO!"
Carden, still a bit distracted, wasn't prepared for such a huge counter attack and was hit by the bouncing spell. Without warning Harry saw images that weren't his own. He saw Dumbledore's office, where a lot of teachers were gathered. Carden was also present. They were all talking to each other. Suddenly the door swung open and Snape came in. He saw Carden and stopped dead in the doorway. His face became deadly white as he stared at the woman in shock.
"Niamh," he said with difficulty.
The witch smiled, but it was a cold smile. "Well, well, Severus, and how are you these days?"
"Where? How?" Snape was completely confused.
"I decided to apply for the job of teacher Defence Against the Dark Arts and professor Dumbledore was kind enough to hire me. I suppose we are colleagues now." Niamh Carden's blue eyes gleamed unpleasantly.
Harry was pushed back. "Well, you certainly caught me by surprise." Carden smiled. "I suppose I should pay more attention next time."
Carden pointed her wand at him again and asked, "Ready?"
Harry nodded and Carden said, "Legilimens!"
Harry struggled to keep his attention focussed on repelling the spell, but he was distracted by Carden's memories. He needed to talk to Ron and Hermione.
After a few attempts by Carden she gave up and sent him back to the Gryffindor tower to practise meditation some more.
Harry walked out of the room and broke into a run. Panting he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Mandragora," he said. The portrait swayed open and Harry climbed inside.
Ron and Hermione were doing their homework at the table. Harry sat himself next to them and muttered, "I need to talk to you." Hermione looked up curiously at the tone of his voice. "It's about Carden," he added.
"What is it?" Ron asked.
"Snape was in her office when I got there. I overheard them talking. They seemed to know each other pretty well." Harry paused. "I think Carden may be a Death Eater."
"That's ridiculous. Dumbledore would know that." Ron said defiantly. He simply refused to believe his favourite teacher was a Death Eater.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. But then she told me something about Occlumency. An advanced Occlumens can keep a Legilimens out of his head without the intruder noticing that he is being repelled. She can do that, Ron, Carden can keep Dumbledore out of her head."
"But still," Hermione said, "that doesn't make her a Death Eater."
"No, it doesn't, but Snape was talking to her about Lucius Malfoy. The three of them are on first name terms, by the way. Snape told Carden about a letter he had received from Malfoy, about her being discovered. They had found out who she really was. Carden said that was just a matter of time since she was teaching here under her own name and that Dumbledore had already spoken to the teachers, so she's not worrying about revenge actions."
Ron goggled. "Revenge actions? From the teachers? Bloody hell, she really must have done something bad. But why would Dumbledore allow a Death Eater inside Hogwarts walls?"
"He believes in second chances," Harry said darkly. "It's what Carden said to Snape. She also asked him what he did to deserve his second chance."
"I wonder about that too," Hermione pondered.
"That's not all," Harry interrupted her. "When we were practising Occlumens I cast a spell to fight her off and I saw a memory of hers. She was in Dumbledore's office with almost every teacher, except Snape. He came in later and when he saw Carden he turned white as a ghost and was completely shocked to see her."
"Well, that makes sense," Ron said. "If she really is a Death Eater, Snape would never have expected to see her there as a new teacher. And since he is a spy for the Order, it would mean serious danger for him. She could expose him as a traitor to You-Know-Who. So that's why he was acting so strange the night of the feast."
"I don't know," Hermione hesitated.
"And if she concocted some story about her not being a Death Eater anymore, and Dumbledore is fooled by her Occlumency skills, who knows what she's really up to!"
Hermione still looked doubtful. Harry looked at her angrily. Why didn't she believe him? You'd think that after five years of Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers with secrets he'd be able to recognize an evil one if he saw one.
"You know what I am going to do?" she said slowly. "I am going to the library."
"Why am I not surprised?" Ron sneered.
Hermione looked coolly at him. "I am going to look up her name. She said she was teaching under her own name, so there must be something I can find about her." Hermione got up and left the two boys sitting at the table.
"Well, I suppose that could be a good idea," Ron admitted sourly.
Two hours later, Hermione climbed back in the common room, looking apprehensive. Quickly she walked over to the big, winged chairs Harry and Ron were sitting in.
"I found something on her," she whispered. There were still a few students in the common room. Harry and Ron bent over to her. She pulled up a chair and said, "I looked her up in the Hogwarts student list. Guess what house she was in?"
"It's Slytherin, isn't it?"
"It is." Hermione sounded worried. "She actually was in the same year as your parents, Harry. So she was in the same year and house as Snape. Also, I looked up some trial reports from the period around V-Voldemort's fall, but there was nothing on her. However, I did found something on a man called Rowan Carden, who was also in Slytherin, but a year older. He was killed by Aurors in a fight with Death Eaters."
Ron whispered. "Do you suppose he was her brother?"
"I wasn't completely sure, so I looked up the name Carden in Ancient Wizarding Families from the British Isles. Rowan Carden was indeed her brother. She also has a younger sister, Deirdre, who is married to Orion Zabini, uncle to our very own Blaise Zabini. Deirdre was also a Slytherin, as are the entire Zabini family."
Ron was opening and closing his mouth, clearly unable to deal with the fact his favourite teacher had a somewhat sinister past.
"The name Carden is very old," Hermione continued. "It goes back to even before the Dark Ages and they've always been a wizarding family. They are definitely purebloods. The meaning of the name is 'from the dark fortress'. It refers to a legend of powerful wizards who did unspeakable things, but who could not be defeated due to the immense fortress they lived in."
Ron gasped in horror.
"There was also something about professor Carden's mother." Hermione glanced over her shoulder, looking uneasy. Neville was reading a Herbology book just a few feet away. "Her name is Astarte Lestrange. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange are professor Carden's cousins."
Harry also looked at Neville. Rodolphus was married to Bellatrix Lestrange. She and her husband and brother-in-law had tortured Neville's parents into insanity. Neville obviously did not know about Carden's family, because he loved professor Carden and her lessons.
Harry felt slightly sick and outraged by Carden's behaviour. She always seemed to have a friendly word for Neville and encouraged him to practise his DADA. What was she doing? Preparing him for the day her cousins would finish their job by killing off the Longbottoms' son?
"There also is a lot of intermarriage between the Cardens and the Malfoys." Hermione sighed. "I hate to say it, Harry, but I think you are right about professor Carden." Hermione didn't like to admit it, because she had been very much impressed by professor Carden, but this proof put her in a very bad light.
Harry stared in the fire brooding over what he should do.
"We have to be cautious around her. Especially you, Harry, during your Occlumency lessons," Ron voiced Harry's thoughts.
"Shouldn't we tell Dumbledore?" Hermione asked concerned.
"What for? If she has fooled him before, she'll do it again. He also trusts Snape, remember?"
Hermione bit her lip. "I suppose you're right. We'll just have to be extremely cautious."
